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LFL COLLECTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL 15 premarks.dbf (primary remarks) files by "catalognum." Field names for the dBase files are modifications of corresponding MUSE field names listed in Appendix II. The dBase program is used by LFL and many of its clients for recording, storing, transmitting, and summarizing processed collection data. A new Windows-based version of MUSE (renamed Zoe) will switch to the Microsoft Access database engine and is scheduled for release later in 1996. It should provide more complete and flexible querying and reporting capabilities and make batch uploads of data into MUSE catalogs safer and easier. Backups-The master LFL Collection Catalog is maintained on the Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology LAN (I:\LFL\MUSE) with backup copies on the hard-drives of selected LFL computers and tape. Only LFL senior staff and designated collection personnel have access to the master catalog for entering new or editing existing records. The above section entitled "Access and Use-Collection Catalog Data" discusses public, read-only access to the master catalog and limited-field electronic and printed versions thereof. If requested by the source agency, sensitive data such as precise localities for endangered species can be restricted from public access in the online version of the catalog. The dBase files noted above and a limited-field, printed version of the catalog are periodically updated and maintained with the LFL Collection. Duplicates of both the dBase files and printed catalog are maintained in RIP's database repository, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Junction, Colorado. Data Checks and Corrections-All data entered in the LFL Collection Catalog are ~ proofed for transcription or entry errors. Locality data for deposited collections are provided by the source agency or researcher, as are specimen data for collections not processed by LFL. For most collections processed by LFL, identities are verified by a second trained technician or taxonomist and counts are double checked. Identities of rare or endangered species or specimens of unusual form are verified by LFL or outside taxonomists. Data or specimen identities which are questioned, corrected, or refined by users are re-examined by LFL taxonomists and if warranted changed accordingly in LFL's catalog and files. Ethics LFL staff are subject to the ethical policies and codes of the department, college, and university through which we are employed, including pertinent guidelines issued by the university's Animal Care and Use Committee. Staff, visitors, and users of the LFL Collection are responsible for helping to assure the integrity and appropriate care of collection specimens and associated data as a valuable public resource. To avoid the appearance or possibility of improprieties, no fish specimens collected and preserved through LFL projects or deposited with the LFL Collection by outside sources may be transferred to the personal collections of LFL employees. However, once employment is terminated, former LFL employees, like any outside researcher, agency, or institution, can request loans, gifts, or exchanges of specimens for research, reference, or educational purposes.